Chapter One
How It All Began
Popularity. There was some type of glory associated with that word. It was a ball of light that shone in a box that seems to have been hidden so long. What was it – Pandora's Box?
Whatever it was, it was that one thing everyone seemed to want more than anything in the world. However, it was so hard to get. People would have to do the most amazing or outrageous things for them to be popular. Some of them consider American Idol or America's Got Talent as a good source to gain that popularity. Others do the simple thing and post videos and pictures of themselves on the internet.
For the three Musketeers who once were the tops of the pyramid for the Cheerios, it was pretty much different from all of that.
For instance, popularity at the University of Louisville was unexpected for the brunette Latina. Sure, she wanted her name out there. Hell, she tweeted every student in McKinley High to support, quote "Santana and company" at Regionals last year. Not many people shared the comment nor even brought anything up because, as usual, the Glee club was a sack full of losers begging for their one moment to shine.
What they hadn't realized, though, is that Glee club can get the members of it to expand their horizons and follow many opportunities coming their way.
It only took Santana to sing a couple of songs in the shower and some stunts at her Louisville cheerleading practice just for the school to know what a powerful and sensational girl she is. It wasn't anything special about the fact that cheerleading has basically been her whole life, and singing was that one thing to let loose of her emotions. Actually, some people saw that as a special thing. Singing and cheerleading were the two main things Santana was good at, other than slashing someone with her vicious words or letting out a quip one time or another.
And the things she was especially good at got her love from everyone on campus. The videos and recordings of Santana's singing went viral on YouTube and Twitter within about three hours. People from every college on campus heard the latest on the former Cheerio – what song she belted out, what her favorite trends were, updates on any friends or loved ones from where she came from – anything.
Sure, it was just a little personal, but she didn't mind. Talking about how she missed her friends and loved ones made her think of Quinn and Brittany. Two blondes with different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses; but also had one thing in common with Santana Lopez: they were the two friends she'll never forget about.
When she first made the decision in going to Louisville, Santana thought it would be something she would regret because she didn't want to be stuck with cheerleading all of her life. On the contrary, though, Brittany had planned all of this. She wanted her to have the best life, and that was all she wanted. Even though that meant more work-out routines, low-calorie drinks, and uniform leotards and skirts, it would mean every minute.
And then there was Quinn Fabray. She was literally the head bitch of the whole school until she went through some downfalls. Spending one terrible night with Noah Puckerman has got to be the worst. He was the resident badass in McKinley High School. He slept with every girl he laid his eyes on, and beat up every jackass he could put his fists on. Santana liked him for his guns, smirk, and tenacity and fearlessness. She looked for that in a man every moment before realizing who she really was.
Santana still sort of liked the Mohawk guy, but she hated him even more when realizing that she slept with Quinn. With a couple of wine coolers and no adults in sight, they've become inseparable for a couple of hours, not even knowing what in God's name were they doing. Quinn wouldn't ever betray God and do the most unfaithful thing in the book. She was more Christian than Santana and Brittany put together.
The most unfortunate part of the whole situation was the fact that Quinn had a seed growing in her stomach throughout the rest of her sophomore year. At that point, she felt that she was losing everything – her Cheerios spot, her ungrateful father, her boyfriend that was claimed to be the baby's father, her cleanliness, and her popularity. She was so upset with herself for attempting this with him. She hadn't seen her father in years, ever since he hooked up with a tattooed freak her mother told her about.
The poor girl was so broken then; and even though Santana has had rivalries with her, she still felt conflicted about her and her situation. Boy, did she want to go to Puck's place and surprise him with a slap in the face. Ever since then, despite some of their foolish rivalries, she and Quinn have still been close friends as they have before the point of the drama.
About three days after the celebrity for a day maneuver, Santana was in the library looking at some books for a test she had to study for. The one thing she hated was having her schedule booked solid. She not only had two or three tests for the day, but she had cheer practice sometime in the afternoon, which was the majority of the stress that had been tying her down lately. She felt like she wouldn't ever get that relaxation she had back in high school ever again.
And at the moment, she felt like she was being watched.
She turned behind her. A redhead was staring at her, her black eyes darkening at the sight of the girl in the red and black uniform. Santana assumed that she was some type of Goth girl; she wore so many dark clothes, and she always had that sly smile on her face. What did she want with her? Sure, everyone knew about her since that whole show-and-tell incident a couple of days ago, but something about this right here made Santana confused.
Virginia Wolfe. This girl read a lot of Virginia Wolfe when she came into the library. No professor would use that book for any assignments, from what Santana knew. And she still had that glare on her face when Santana noticed her.
She…she could possibly be a lesbian, could she?
Brittany was Santana's first and only love. She can't ever deny the love and friendship she has with her blonde beauty. She made her laugh on days when she moped or cried. She was so smart, even though people called her dumb. She knew the solution to almost anything.
Now Santana wouldn't ever cheat on the poor girl, and Brittany wouldn't cheat on her, either. They both give themselves up to each other. They don't deny each other, not even back when they were just best friends.
But…well, what was with Santana now? She's staring back at a girl who's not her girlfriend. A tingle of sensation blew over her, and she didn't know why. She shouldn't be like this. That tingle should be coming from staring at Brittany S. Pierce, and not…well, who was she?
Maybe she'll find out later on. In the meantime, she found out, she slightly smiled back, being friendly as possibly.
All the girl thought of when she turned back to her books was seeing that girl almost every day when she attended her classes. She wasn't familiar with her at all, but she felt like she'll be haunting her brain every day. Her senses were telling her that she was something fresh and hot, coming out of the oven; her heart told her that she should feel like she's burning in hell for feeling whatever type of attraction she had with that random girl.
She directed her attention back to the book she had on the table with her. C.G. Benson, Back in History. The book was so old; the ratty old thing had been first used in 2001. How come this university doesn't throw out their old books in place of the new ones?
She looked on page 233, the page she had to study for her test. She kept reading the little passages, and then got lost in her reading.
That girl's face kept coming to her every time she tried focusing on what she needed to do. To think she was still behind her as well. Santana was at her uncomfortable, unsteady state at the moment. She couldn't go on like this. She needed out.
The brunette brought her books out of the library and into the hallway, sitting on a velvet bench that had awaited her presence. The books were so heavy; God, she had a lot to study, although it has only been a couple of weeks since school went back in session.
As she tried to get everything situated, her black purse fell to the ground. Her phone book, cell phone, and make-up bag slipped out. Clumsy ass me, she thought as she retrieved her belongings.
And then, the face of an angel came into her vision. Brittany S. Pierce.
A miniature-sized photo of the blonde Cheerio had fallen out of Santana's phone book. On the photo, the blonde was holding pompons in her hands, flourishing them joyously. Her smile, like her blue eyes, was bright. Her hair was golden. Her cheer was infectious. How could she leave all of that behind in Lima, Ohio? Staying there with her would've been the better choice for her.
"Brittany…" Santana whispered at the picture in her perfectly-manicured hands. "Please don't forget about me." She know she won't. After all, she was her best friend and soul mate. No one ever forgets their soul mate. Even if that person had to be as witty as Santana's beloved girlfriend, no one – not even her – would forget.
The Latina sighed. She missed her so much. She felt so…naked without her. Come on, Santana Lopez, she thought to herself, do not cry in public.
"Excuse me." Santana looked up from Brittany's picture. An almost balding man had shown up out of nowhere. His red tie was set perfectly on his chest, his tan jacket and pants were perfectly groomed on him, and his white hairs were neatly combed on his head.
"Oh, hey Mr. Law," Santana spoke with a little bit of enthusiasm towards the dean of the university.
The pale man turned his attention to the set of books that lay on the bench beside the Louisville cheerleader. "I see you're prepping for the big test," he observes. "You keep doing well, hear me?"
Really? Was that all he came for, Santana thought in the back of her mind. "Oh, I will," Santana said, grabbing her books and bag and rising from her seat.
"Before you go," Mr. Law added, "you're needed in the principal's office down at the administrator's building. Someone has come in for you, and they're enthused to share something with you."
Santana pondered over the last part as she walked beside the dean. Could Brittany possibly be in town to see her? Was it her mother, Maribel? She distracted herself from most questions like that, and directed her attention around the corridors of the study hall. Everything had mahogany colors or something rich and royal-like. The brunette couldn't believe how fancy the area was.
"So Santana…" the dean spoke. To the college freshman, the conversation started getting awkward as it started. "You came from Lima, Ohio, correct?"
"From William McKinley High, yes," Santana answered.
"What was your old school like?" The doors were pushed open for Santana as she stepped out of the building. "I read on your recommendation letter that you have been a member of the McKinley Cheerios for all four years."
"Yeah, I…" Santana started to say before she blanked out. "I was captain for two years."
"Did you love it back then?"
"Pretty much. I mean, our coach nearly broke our bones, but it was something I loved once I came there." Santana felt as if that was a lie. She had been athletic since around nine years old, that was true. But she didn't want to be a cheerleader all her life. She had other things she wanted to accomplish. Besides, she mostly joined for the popularity, especially since she started becoming friends with Quinn Fabray and Brittany S. Pierce. Plus, the amount of times Sue Sylvester has yelled at her and the other Cheerios in pain has lost its affect.
"Is that how you feel about completing the scholarship you got for cheerleading here?" the dean asked, which Santana's answer will probably be a lie as well.
"Of course," Santana replied, clutching onto her books and bag. The sun glowed on their heads as they walked down the pathway through the grassy area of the campus. Her thumb caressed her hand as she held her books in her arms. Every day being at the University of Louisville, just like being on the Cheerios at McKinley, will end up being like getting a tan almost every day.
"What made you want to come here?" the dean asked, turning to some yellow daffodils for a moment. "Everyone has a motivation for attending the University of Louisville. So…why you?"
Santana knew the answer to that.
She wanted to make her girlfriend proud. She helped her get that scholarship. She wanted her to be well known. She wanted her to have the best she could possibly get. There was no other way. Brittany pretty much saved her life and got her the education here at the university.
And when Santana found out that she had to repeat her senior year, it devastated her. She always thought Brittany was smart, even though others thought otherwise. She hadn't mentioned anything about her grades up until that little dinner at Breadstix with Santana's mother. If only she could have. She'd be smarter than the Latina already thought she was.
Now, Santana was doing this for her. Not only because she was her girlfriend and Santana loved what she did for her, but so she can set an example as if Brittany were her little sister. Brittany needed out of McKinley so she can head on off to college with her and pursue any dream she wants. Santana was going to help her with that, hopefully, if studying and cheerleading in Kentucky didn't hold her down.
"I got a lot of motivation from a…friend back in McKinley," Santana explained. "She was the one who got me this scholarship, actually."
"What college does she attend?"
"She's not in college right now. She…she's not even graduated from high school yet."
"Underclassman, I assume?"
"No. Repeating her senior year. I mean, she could've told me about her academic issues earlier on before the weeks preceding the big graduation day, but…well, I guess she didn't want to upset me. I don't know."
Mr. Law nodded understandably, looking ahead as the sun shined in his eyes. "She would need to step it up then," he replied in an acceptable tone. "Seems like she prefers committing to other people's lives than her own. She has her own life to worry about."
Santana shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."
A part of him was right, though. Brittany wanted to make Santana happy, but she wasn't making herself happy, especially with those grades of hers. If she wanted to be successful in this world, she would need to step it up in high school, and try to move up as much as she can.
It had been a long walk from the study hall. Neither one of them knew how much time passed when they were talking and stuff. The sun bathed them, and as Santana put her hand on her head for a moment, she felt the burn from the sun's rays. The books in her hands were getting heavy, and she wanted to put them down so badly.
Luckily enough, she and Mr. Law arrived at the administrator's building. The dean opened the door for her, and she walked through the corridors of the building. Mr. Law directed her to the principal's office, which was about five steps to her left, near the end of the hallway.
On the door marked Mr. Matthew Dane, Principal. The glass on the door was hard to see through, but she spotted a silhouette of a man in a chair at his desk. Santana swallowed hard at the lump in her throat, and made her way inside the room. Two women, relatively in their twenties or so, accompanied the principal: one was a blonde with glasses, holding a clipboard and dressed in a pants suit, and the other was a black-haired woman with caramel skin and green eyes. She had an orange tank top and a matching, floral skirt.
"Santana," the black-haired woman spoke with charm and the widest smile Santana has ever seen. It made her feel so awkward inside. She knew nothing of these people. Were they supposed to be therapists or something. "Come in and have a seat."
The brunette took a moment to search around the place. Everything turned out to be so strange. What did these people want?
The office inside was dark due to the paint job done inside. Many books sat on shelves sitting on the perimeter, and a couch lay on the back wall nearest the door. Three chairs were facing the principal's desk, with the black-haired lady seated in the one furthest to the right.
Santana wasn't sure if she was going to be pulled into something, or had already gotten into some trouble in the first weeks of school. Either way, she did as told and took the middle seat beside the black-haired lady. Mr. Law took the seat closest to the left of the room. Her eyes kept going to their corners, from the dean to the two ladies and back.
"This lady," Principal Dane spoke, directing Santana's attention to the black-haired lady, "is a manager. Her name is Regina Hills. And this is her assistant, Marjorie." Both women waved at the Latina, with matching smiles and positive attitudes. "Ladies, share with Santana what you have for her."
Santana brought her hands together, still holding onto the books into her hands. Surprisingly, she was nervous as to what they were doing here. She hadn't gotten into any trouble since she attended the university. Did her mother call a dean at another school and request a transfer? She loved her mother so much, but if that happened, she would throw the biggest fit ever.
"Well, to start off," Regina began, "we came all the way from California. I work as a manager for clients in the music industry, mostly pop and R&B. I've been working at Spark USA Records for about five to nine years now, and I manage about eight music stars."
Santana cocked her eyebrow, impressed.
"And, um, I've been her assistant for a year now," Marjorie spoke, "so I'm practically new to this whole thing. But I plan schedules and flights and stuff. Any concert, any vacation, any visit – you're there."
While Santana found this interesting, she still didn't know what this all had to do with her. "Okay, so why am I here again? I don't get it, really."
Regina cleared her throat and looked the brunette in her eyes. "May I ask you? Have you ever had a dream so hard to achieve? Everyone in this world has some type of American dream. You know, like being a song artist, an actor, a doctor or dentist, or the next United States president. What was your American dream?"
Santana never really thought about that.
Actually, back in high school, she thought about being famous. She even told Mr. Schue and the members of New Directions that she, in fact, would be famous. Whatever it took, she would have her name out there, and people screaming her name with joy.
Maybe the transfer to the University of Louisville made her forget about that.
"Well, back in high school," Santana began, "I wanted to be famous. I wasn't really sure what I would be doing, exactly, but –"
"Well, what's one thing you love doing?"
Santana took another minute to think. "I like clothes shopping…singing – after realizing that in Glee club, that is –"
Regina seemed impressed with her. "So you do like to sing?"
"Well…yes. Nothing else can help me convey that type of emotion that's stuck somewhere inside of me. I have a lot to be mad and upset about right now – even now when I'm here in Louisville. I have problems with keeping up with friends…and actually keeping friends, sometimes. The one I love is back in Lima, feeling miserable having to stay in that choir room for another year. My abuela has problems with me, which are unsolved."
Everyone in the room nodded. Marjorie had even taken notes on what Santana said into her clipboard.
"Wait, what did you just put down?" Santana got curious as to what Marjorie was writing.
"I was just getting a couple of notes on your background," Marjorie explained calmly, and her direction turned back to her notepad. "You know, some of the things you like, your strengths –"
"So you two came here to barge into my business, right?"
The dean took a stand from his seat and placed his manly hands onto the Latina's shoulders, trying to keep her from starting a riot. "Not to worry, Santana. It's not like they're going to stalk you or anything –"
"It sure did seem like it," the brunette mumbled.
"Actually, all of this they're doing is a good thing."
"Why would it be a good thing? I already came from a God-forsaken high school where they enrolled a nerdy creep as a blog publisher and school reporter, attempting to get into the pants of Glee girls every chance he gets." The principal and the dean turn to each other with perplexed facial expressions. "Then I come here, and two women – not two men – two women interrogate me and write stuff about me for their little hidden camera show."
"That's all part of the surprise. Trust us," the principal spoke.
"What surprise? I end up on Punk'd, and I make a visit to Lima where my friends embarrass me? Not worth it."
"Do you want to know what all of this is worth then?" Regina encouraged.
"Maybe. Is it some type of reality TV show or something?"
"One day, it might be."
Santana's only reaction to that was the furrowing of her eyebrows. What the hell was she talking about? Did she actually mean Santana would be on a reality TV show someday? Was she trying to play with her thoughts or something?
But then, her mind suddenly became clear once the black-haired woman handed her a three-page contract.
"Oh – oh, my God." The girl was almost speechless. She read through every line of the documents. "I – I get to be signed for a recording studio?" Everything was happening so fast. Adrenaline rushed through her body so quickly. She was losing her mind. She was as ecstatic as someone back in Lima who had won the lottery.
"Yes, sweetness," Regina said with a satisfied smile. "All you have to do is sign and fill everything out, and we can get you sent to California in the nick of time." Santana was so relieved. This was the moment she's been waiting for all her life. People back in Glee club thought she wouldn't get this opportunity in a lifetime. They were stood corrected again by the determined and flawless Santana Lopez.
But as she read the contract, she knew what all of this meant.
Brittany was still back in Lima, alone crying in her room probably and wondering why the Latina wasn't picking up her phone. Santana promised her that she would call each day and get an update from the blonde, but work has been keeping the two so separate.
Then she started thinking of Quinn. Santana, Quinn, and Brittany were the Unholy Trinity. They start and end together, as always. The petite blonde was back in Connecticut somewhere for college. Why were her girls so separate from her? If only there were a way to –
Unless…
"May I ask one favor?" the brunette asked, with Regina and Marjorie leaning forward attentively.
Quinn and Brittany were going to love this.